


Cleopatra (old version)

by littlemisstpk



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Boys In Love, F/M, M/M, POV Third Person Limited, Pining, Post-Canon, Reconciliation, Songfic, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 14:32:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13813164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemisstpk/pseuds/littlemisstpk
Summary: When Hinata confesses the depths of his feelings at Karasuno's graduation, Kageyama walks away, unable to make sense of the whirlwind that was his emotions.Rewritten, as this was very early in developing my current writing style. Find ithere!





	Cleopatra (old version)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm mostly keeping this around for posterity than anything. Stay tuned for the completed rewrite!

Kageyama Tobio first ran away from happiness after his high school graduation. He looked down at a mop of red hair, bright eyes looking into his own. Tobio was dimly aware of the button in Hinata’s outstretched hands, a declaration of love from the ace to his setter, vice captain to captain. Without a word, Tobio turned on his heel and walked away, and he didn’t need to look behind him to see rivers of tears on Hinata’s shell-shocked face; he could feel the streams running down his own face in his overwhelming, conflicted emotions.

He exchanged his train ticket that took him to his new dorm in Tokyo for the earliest train in the morning, opting not to go to Yamaguchi’s end of high school party.

~~~~~

It was a given that Tobio would try out for the university volleyball team. It was also as given that he was on the starting lineup. It was moderately surprising that Tsukishima also made it into a similar position, considering his former apathy to club activities. However, Tobio had noticed a change in the taller man in the Spring Tournament from their first year, and now recognized a familiar level of volleyball mania hidden behind a sneer.

Tsukishima and Tobio ended up bonding over heartache and disappointment, with Hinata and Yamaguchi being unspoken taboo topics. They ended up creating a novel spiker and setter relationship that was talked about at every practice match they played. It was not quite the magical bond he had shared with Hinata in high school, which Tobio was the first to realize was once in a lifetime experience. The reminder of the force of nature that was his former best friend left a new gouge in his heart, and so Tobio furiously rubbed his chest to try and make the pain dissipate. As hard as he tried, Tobio could not make it go away, and it was usually a glare from Tsukishima or solid thwap on his back followed by a nasally “Tobio-chan” from Oikawa that would snap him out of his reverie.

~~~~~

The coach quickly learned to put Oikawa on as starting setter when they played any university from Sendai. The first game where Hinata was on the opposite side of the net, Tobio hit Tsukishima’s hands that were positioned to protect his head and neck from errant serves. While Tobio was faintly aware of the death glare coming from the blond man, he was more focused on his former teammate, who had turned as white as a sheet.

Tobio was not surprised when he heard a whistle and saw a paddle with his number on it. He took it in hand, catching Oikawa’s pitying look as he made his way to the bench, where the coaches and manager sat. Taking a place beside Yachi, who got on as manager at his university, he faintly felt slender arms around him, wordlessly giving Tobio the comfort that he needed to get through the match.

~~~~~

Not long after Tobio and Hitoka finish their degrees, they married during one of the summer festivals in Miyagi. Tsukishima ended up being Tobio's best man, and Kiyoko was Hitoka’s maid of honour. It was a small wedding, and the guest list ended up being immediate family and Tobio's volleyball friends, which were all mutual friends through Hitoka's role as manager in all his higher education teams. Neither of them mentioned the absence of Hinata from the Karasuno reunion that was the wedding reception, but Tobio couldn't help but think that Hinata would rile up Noya and Tanaka to new heights, bringing smiles to people’s faces, if not temporary deafness.

Ignoring the ache in his heart that he had learned to associate with missed opportunity, Tobio leaned down and kissed the newly christened Kageyama Hitoka.

~~~~~

As many years as went by, Tobio could not help but think about how Hinata would fit into his life as it currently stood, whether the redheaded whirlwind would be as excited about being on a professional volleyball team in Tokyo, or being excited about Tobio's new daughter as the new father himself. He could practically hear the loud voice exclaim, “Bakageyama! Babies are not volleyball! You can’t toss them around like that!”

Tobio certainly did not think of Hinata as Hitoka became more and more distant as his professional career blossomed, hoping that the smaller man could fill the ever growing hole in his heart. His saving grace was his daughter, Saeko. She had the optimism of her mother, the calmness of her father, and a combination of features that made her look unique and undeniably her parents’ child all at the same time. When the divorce went through, Tobio fought his hardest to make sure that he could see her whenever he was in town. He was not going to let another important person down that deserved his love.

~~~~~

It was after one of his games that Tobio's new normal routine had shifted into something altogether uncomfortable. It was normal for him to be interviewed after a game about this thoughts on how plays went about, and not only was Tobio getting used to talking about volleyball using terms that most people could understand, but he was befriending some of the sports reporters to some degree.

He thought that he was in the clear, but he saw a familiar head of hair approaching where he was towelling off near the bench. Tobio noted that the hair was shorter on the sides, and the top was actually tamed in a controlled chaos kind of way. He had to admit, Hinata looked  _ good _ , wearing a well-coordinated suit and a familiarizing smile. Behind Hinata trailed a camera man and a boom mic operator, Tobio breathed deeply in preparation for the situation at hand. He slipped on the mask that was inspired by Ushijima and thoroughly tested by Oikawa, the one that he knew was unbreakable.

What Tobio did not realize, is that everything can break, and not even Oikawa can slip through every defence.

After the first fluff question that Hinata asked Tobio (“What did you find the most difficult part of penetrating their defence?”), Tobio watched as Hinata’s body looked relaxed to a casual observer, but he knew that the tension within the other was akin to a cornered animal, a sight he had seen before many a volleyball game at school, which was usually accompanied by vomit to alleviate the nerves. Tobio subconsciously took a step backwards. (“Their blockers were effective, so it was difficult to see who would be the most effective to get past their wall.”)

After a couple more inane questions, Tobio heard a familiar tiny voice quickly become louder. As he looked away from Hinata and his crew, he saw Saeko running full tilt towards her father, who did not hesitate to pick her up and toss her around like a volleyball for a bit. He looked in the direction that his child had run from, and seeing Tsukishima with his minions, Tobio heard his friend call out, “Lame!” with sneer on his face.

Tobio simply called back, “So’s your face!”

Looking at the perplexed look on Hinata’s face, Tobio explained to the camera, “He’s one of my few friends from the miraculous Karasuno days with whom I still keep in touch. We weren’t especially close in high school, but we became great friends in university. He was the best man at my wedding too. He understands that volleyball is easy, it’s life that’s hard.”

Tobio had gotten good at press smiles, but he was reverting back to his old high school habits, where his forced smiles were closer to painful grimaces, much to the amusement of the younger version of the man in front of him, both past and present. It was then that Tobio heard the most enchanting music he had not heard since high school: Hinata’s laugh. Tobio quickly remembered the old routine, and pouted at Hinata’s laugh. (He really didn’t mind, as the only openly happy sounds he heard lately were from Saeko on the odd occasion he could get her from Hitoka)

As fun as remembering high school was, Tobio reminded himself that he couldn’t give Hinata what he wanted then, and he had no idea of what he wanted now, so there was no use in trying to figure it out if neither solution would make it better.

~~~~~

As Tobio set his feet down on the ground after he dumped the ball, he immediately knew that something was wrong. He heard the crunch more than felt it, and when he was brave enough to look down, Tobio saw his right leg splayed out at an odd angle. As his back made full contact with the hardwood court beneath him, the pain kicked in, and he let out a blood curdling yell. He infused into the yell the instant realization that his professional volleyball career was over, and he barely noticed the looks of horror on people’s faces as he was carried off the court on a stretcher. As Tobio hyperventilated in an attempt at natural pain control, he caught the wet look of unshed tears in Hinata’s eyes. Tobio couldn't tell whether or not it was the eye contact or his natural endorphins taking over, but the deep amber pools that had seen heartache and hinted at wisdom gained from all those years away kept him grounded until he was taken out of sight.

In the hospital, after the doctors realigned his leg (a process which he cannot remember thanks to drugs) and declared ACL to be completely torn, he found himself bored in the hospital. Hitoka brought Saeko to visit every day, and Tsukishima often brought Takenori and Takeshi, who he was training to be just as much as little shitheads as their father, and it made the painful days of rehab worth it.

Tobio was not expecting Hinata to appear at the doorway to his room.

He felt his heart clench as Hinata wordlessly sat in the chair by his bed. Tobio had gotten used to the emotional buffer of Hinata’s entourage. Here he was, alone, and unable to walk away if the conversation went south. As they looked into each other’s eyes, Tobio realized that as much as they could joke about being old high school friends on camera, and reference the miraculous duo, they could not regain that level of wordless communication that easily.

Finally, a single word left Hinata’s lips.

“Why?”

Of course Hinata had to ask the one question that Tobio was unwilling to answer, so he played dumb. “Why what?”

Hinata breathed forcefully out of his nose, and Tobio briefly got the image of a bull about to charge a matador.

“Why did you run after graduation?”

Now, Tobio could not play dumb anymore. He also couldn't look his friend in the eye as he answered, “I didn't know what I wanted. I was young and scared.” He turned and looked directly into Hinata’s eyes. “By the time I knew what I wanted, it felt like it was too late, so I settled.” Tobio gave a self deprecating short, and turned away towards the window.

He felt his hand become enclosed by Hinata’s heat, and faintly felt tears rolling down his forearm as Hinata’s body shook as sobs coursed through his entirety. Tobio might have trouble understanding emotions sometimes, but even he could tell that this was ten years in the making.

Using his free hand to tenderly stroke Hinata’s chin, Tobio used the moment of capturing the others’ attention to pat the opposite side of the hospital bed, inviting Hinata in to cuddle in a way that would not aggravate his leg. As the smaller man slotted perfectly against him, Tobio couldn't tell whether he would get what he wanted now, but he at least knew he had his friend back.


End file.
